|
Acoustic Zen's
Robert Lee, never one to rest on his laurels
basking in the success of his Adagio series
loudspeakers, has officially lowered the
gauntlet with the introduction of his Acoustic
Zen Crescendo loudspeaker ($12k). Driven by
lofty Halcro electronics, it was obvious from
the first note that the Crescendos are serious
contender if you're looking for a new
reference at around $10k. Substantial indeed
at 185 lbs per side, sporting dual 5"
long-throw Underhung midrange drivers
separated by a horn-loaded ribbon tweeter. The
bass section boasts dual 8" long-throw
Underhung woofers made of ceramic paper cone.
Lee qualifies this, his latest invention as
"quite an impressive 3-way transmission-line
design." One thing is certain, besides the
fact I like the looks, the sound was very
impressive as well causing me to sit around
much longer than planned. Lee says "Just
like the Adagio loudspeakers, don't let the
price fool you. The Crescendos are going to
make life hard for more expensive designs."
After hearing the Crescendos at length
here in Denver, there's not doubt they're
going to win many hearts.
From the simple to the sublime
This is the
second time I heard this setup and the second
time I left the room scratching my wig
wonder-struck. The IsoMike demo
showed what "no limiting, no compression, no
mixing and no equalization" could sound like
in DSD!" This humongous space supported 6 pair
of Sound Lab ProStat 922 loudspeakers (behind
the Sony SS-AR1s photo above). EMM Labs
supplied the DSD playback via their
multi-channel DAC8 MK IV and CDSD player.
Kimber Select was the cable of choice
throughout while AC cords were the Kimber
Palladian. Total cost of this rig:
$507,288.00. Sound-wise, it was totally
awe-inspiring the way it reproduced the sonic
landscape so seamlessly and effortlessly using
the Sound Lab ProStats in surround no less.
Unfortunately, even if I could afford a rig
such as this, I wouldn't have the space so
that makes this unattainable for most humans
who resides in anything short of a castle. My
hunch is, the sponsors of this room wanted to
make a point of "this is what is musically
possible when done correctly." What a shame it
has to be so correct and BIG.
_____________________
Speaking of which...
 Artistic Audio
Imports garnered perhaps one of the best
sounding rooms at the show that featured the
outrageously huge and expensive Acapella
Triolon Excalibur loudspeakers ($170,500.00).
Einstein electronics provided the source as
well as amplification and I have to admit as
cost prohibitive and
vainglorious
as this system certainly looked, it
nevertheless produced a sound that was utterly
magnificent. This was the second time I've had
the opportunity to hear that ion-plasma (ozone
free) tweeter and I've got to admit it is
perhaps one of the purist sounding top-ends
I've ever heard.
_____________________
Atma-Sphere
Music System, Purist Audio and the classic
horn sound via the Hartsfield loudspeakers put
on a big demo in a very large suite. All the
virtues of horn sound via output
transformer-less amplification; sweet and
harmonically rich sounding from wall to wall.
_____________________
 The
ClairAudient Line Source Array model 16 ($50k)
and Steve McCormick's new line of SMc Audio
electronics, featuring his new VRE-1 preamp, really served up the music. Here's
a unique line source designed by the late
Richard Smith (co-founder of Audience) that
employs sixteen 50 mm full-range drivers and
boasts a whopping 110 dB efficiency rating.
The ClairAudient uses zero crossovers and thus
claims very high phase coherency. Prior
experience tells me these attributes should
translate into an ultra-transparent and
seamless sonic portrait. Almost. As much as I
enjoyed my time here the sound was a tad on
the warmish side of neutral. That said, the
sound was the opposite of dry, edgy and
fatiguing. There's something special indeed
about the ClairAudient LSA 16s that deserve
further investigation.
|
